Silver Notes
by mangatiger14
Summary: Can Silver survive heartbreak, new loves, broken friendships, and a new family? When she meets with the Flock, all heck insues! Set when the Flock is going to D.C., how will Silver affect their Virginia adventure? Iggy/OC
1. WHAT THE HECK! chap 1

**I don't own Maximum Ride or any of the original characters I only this character: Silver**

It's not every day that you meet someone who's like you. You know, they like the same things and they might even look like you. Except for me, it's even rarer, considering I have something that most humans don't; wings. Weird, am I right? I mean that's normally only in sci-fi books! Yet the last time I checked, I am not in a science fiction book. In those books, the freak is almost always the hero. They're loved, worshipped, _well fed,_ etc., but I'm the opposite. Everyone thinks of me as trash, dirt, homeless, and orphan. And I am most certainly _not_ well fed.

My stomach grumbled loudly as I opened the door to Mc Donald's. "Ba da ba da da, man I'm hungry." I mumbled sarcastically to myself. Staring at all the food didn't help, either. Anyways, it's not like I could afford any of it. All I could do was stare and hope that someone didn't finish their burger or fries. "Um, are you using that table?" someone on my right asked. She was blond and pretty thin, not the usual customer here. Then my eyes wandered down to her tray and I nearly had a conniption! Her tray was over-flowing with food, literally! A slight whimper nearly escaped my lips, but I caught myself.

"Uh, no, you can use it." I answered, my eyes falling to the ground. "Thanks! Hey, Gazzy, Nudge, table over here! Tell Fang and the rest!" the blondy called over her shoulder. 'Weird names' I thought to myself 'of course, mine's not your average Sally nobody, either'. I watched as five more sat down with equally full trays. 'I can't bear it anymore!' and with that thought, I went outside to dig for food in the trash. About five minutes later, nothing was turning up, so I sighed and sat back against the wall. "Um, yeah Max, I just dropped something out here. I'll be right back." A small voice yelled from the front.

I closed my eyes for a second then opened them. "AAAAH!" I screamed, jumping about two feet in the air. Right in front of me was a little girl with curly blond hair and an angelic smile. "Hi, I'm Angel. I heard you back here and thought you might be hungry." She smiled and held out an uneaten hamburger. My mind went blank. No one has ever offered me food, NO ONE! Yet here it was, steaming and juicey, just waiting for me to eat it. "Th-thanks." I said, still in slight shock. I grabbed the burger and ate it like it would disappear on me.

Angel giggled and grabbed my hand, pulling up and to the front door. She was pushing the door open when the sense finally popped back in my head. "Where are you dragging me?" I asked a little warily. "I want you to meet my friend, Max. She's really smart and nice." Angel smiled up at me. "I don't think that your friend's going to like me very much." I mumbled under my breath. Angel looked up at me and whispered "we have wings also." My mouth fell open and I swear you could hear my brain fizzle up. "WHAAAAA?!" and then it hit me. "YOU KNOW I HAVE WINGS!!!" I whisper yelled. Angel tugged my hand and got me to keep walking. "I, um, sort of read in your mind." Okay, today is officially the weirdest day in my life, EVER.


	2. CHECK OUT MY WINGS! chap 2

**I don't own Maximum Ride or any of the original characters, I only own Silver… well yeah… that's the disclaimer, soooooooooooo… sorry that the first chapter was so short, this one will be longer. AND NOW TO THE STORY!!!**

We finally got over to their table. "Hey Angel, who's this?" Oh look, Blondie doesn't remember me, I feel so loved (I mentally rolled my eyes). "Oh this is… um…" Angel looked up at me expectantly. "My names Silver, I guess it's nice to meet you_ again_." I said the word _again_ under my breath, a little miffed that she didn't remember me. Blondie looked me over suspiciously, which for some reason made me dislike her more. "You know, I'm not an assassin, so you can stop giving me the EYE." I said using a patronizing tone. "And I think you're supposed to give me your names now that you know mine. It's that or I really need to get up to date on my manners." I slightly raised one eye brow, just to tick Blondie off more.

Okay, her face was PRICELESS! It was livid with anger and her mouth hung open. All the other kids sitting at the table were cowering in fear, like Blondie was going to kill me. Slowly, Blondie's face calmed back into impassiveness and her eyes got this creepy gleam in them. "Well, my name's Max, that's Iggy *pale kid on her left*, Fang *emo kid next to Iggy*, Gazzy *the smallest boy*, Nudge *black girl with nice hair*, and I guess you've already met Angel *YEP!*." Gazzy smiled up at me, Iggy nodded in my _general_ direction, Fang gave me the EYE as well, and Nudge tackled me into a hug.

"Ugh, nice to m-meet you to" I grunted out. Nudge let me go and started rambling "Wow, it's so good to meet you. You're even thinner than we are! And your hair is red!! Not like cherry red, but like strawberry red. It's really pretty and you know, I always loved the taste of strawberries they are so swe—". My hand went over her mouth, but I was laughing as I said "well I guess I know why they call you Nudge!" I felt her lips turning up into a smile. I watched as Angel went over and whispered something in Max's ear. Max's eyebrows shot up and she immediately leaned over and whispered in Fangs ear. Then Fang whispered in Iggy's ear and so on and so forth until they were all staring at me wide eyed.

"You have… you know." Gazzy flapped his arms up and down like wings. "Uh…" I didn't really know how to answer. Should I tell them or should I _not_ tell them!? _You can trust us._ OMIGOSH!!! Where the heck is that voice coming from! Am I finally going insane… or maybe I always was insane (P.S. these are thoughts on me as well as Silver ;)). _Umm no, you aren't going insane. It's just me, Angel!_ 'Oh, well that makes _**perfect**_ sense' I mentally rolled my eyes. Taking a huge leap of faith, I nodded my head yes. I looked at each of their faces, really wanting to see belief. And, surprise surprise, that's just what I saw…huh, today is just my lucky day, am I right?

Suddenly Max stood up, her chair clattering out behind her. "Well it was nice meeting someone like us, but we've got to go." Oh, brrrrr, now _that_ was cold. Look! I made a snowman!! I felt someone grab my hand and looked over to see Angel giving Maxy a pleading look. "Oh MAX! Can't silver come too!!" Go with them where? "I don't know, sweetie. She might not even be able to fly, just because she has wings…" Whoa, she is so not dissing me!! "You know, when you've got wings, you learn how to fly." I put in. Max looked me straight in the eye and said simply "prove it." "FINE!" I yelled, and marched outside and into the wooded area behind the Mc Donald's.

I heard all six of them following me. When we were far enough away from the streets I turned around and whipped out my wings! "Oooh, so cool!" "Wow!" "I want to do that to _my_ wings!" Yeah, my wings were awesome. They were pure white and almost 13 feet wide. I had also dyed the tips of some of my feathers green and silver (appropriate, right?). I shook them out a bit, enjoying the cool breeze on them. And then, WOOSH! I was up and flying high!

**Well that's chapter two! Sorry if Nudge seems a bit OC, but I needed a way to describe Silver a little. =) I hope you guys like it and PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah… I know so many people put that and I felt so left out. Well no, not really, I was just bored. If you guys think I should change the title PLEASE tell me…? I love those three dots! They imply soo much awkwardness! Well bye!!! +)**


	3. ATTACK! chap 3

**Hey you guys, don't own anything besides Silver!! Some Iggy and Silver romance coming up so hold tight!! Anyways… sorry it's been taking me so long to update, just have a lot going on so… you get my point.**

Flying up in the sky is so… exhilarating! The air rushing through your hair and the whole world seems to be in reach. Aw, I sound so poetic… must be because I have food in my stomach. Glancing below me, I saw the rest of them up and in the air as well, although Max looked more than a little grudging. 'Well tough' I thought, a smile growing on me cheeks.

I turned the tips of my wings slightly to get on course when a thought popped into my head. Coasting over to Max, I noticed that she still had a suspicious look in her eyes. "Sorry about the attitude earlier." I apologized, earning a slightly stunned stare from Max. Seeing as she wasn't saying anything, I went on. "It's just that… I haven't really been able to be, um…open, or myself with most people. I got so used to people hating me from the get-go that I…"

My smile had faded and I could see sadness in Max's eyes, as well as pity. Hardening my metaphorical turtle shell, I forced a smile on my face and met Max's eyes. "Anyways, where are we going exactly?" I asked a little embarrassed that I hadn't thought to ask before we took off. "We are going to Washington D.C." Max said simply, and I could tell there was more to it, but didn't ask.

A dark figure glided over to us and I realized that it as Fang. His wings were black as a night with no moon; actually, everything about him was dark. I swear that if he stood completely still at night, he would disappear! "You two seem to be getting along." That was the most that I had heard him say so far. Both I and Max stuck out our tongues.

"Wow, Silver's like Max's long lost twin or something!" Gazzy had sailed down underneath us, so I kicked down and heard a satisfying "hey!" 'Man, these guys can grow on you… I wonder if I'll be able to leave when-'I shook my head a bit 'just enjoy the moment.' That's what I told myself, but in my mind, a sudden flashback brought a grimace.

I was younger, maybe by two years, and I was in a back alleyway. I shivered and looked around wildly, as if trying to find someone. Rain was pooling around my feet and the darkness suffocating me. Again, I shook my head to clear away the image. That when I heard it, that sound of heavy leather being swished through the air.

I'm going to pause a moment and ask you something. Have you ever had that feeling that your whole day is about to go downhill? Like when you mom and brother come in the room and they both have this icy stare in their eyes. And then one of them says something and the other contradicts it, suddenly the living room you are in turns into a battle front. Well yeah, that's exactly the feeling I had then.

And my feeling was so on the mark, because just then, those wolfy guys swooped down all around us. "THEY HAVE WINGS!!!" Nudges voice was full of surprise, which made some of the freaks laugh. **NOT THE MAX GANG.** "Looks like the little birdies are surprised to see us in the sky." One of the repulsive beasts snickered. Surprised and annoyed, but not scared, mostly because these goons were plain idiots!

I mean, they have these clunky sewn on wings, and they were not made for flying. Us, on the other hand, were born with wings, so this was so our element. One of them lunged at us and the rest followed suit. The one that first lunged clawed at my arms, so I whipped my leg out at it.

His head snapped back, making it loosen its strong grip on me. I allowed myself a small victory smile, but was caught off-guard when another Wolfy punched me right in the solar plexus. "Oomph!" the air went whooshing out of me and I dropped about three feet before it came back. Another one used my disadvantage to attack and slammed booth his hands over my ears.

White spots danced across my field of vision. "Help!" I promptly whirled around to find Nudge stuck in a head lock while another Wolfy kneed her in the gut. I did a quick scan and saw that Max and the others were a bit busy, so I flew over her way to help. "Head down, Nudge!" I yelled as I swung in a punch the Wolfy that was holding her right in the nose.

Blood trailed down his muzzle, making him look even more blood thirsty (if possible). I kicked his stomach and down he went, all the way to the lake below (all though I doubt the water felt good at that speed). Nudge, who was still breathless, simply nodded her thanks. "No problem" I started, but was cut off when a sharp pain in my back caused me to grunt in pain.

Something warm and thick dripped down my wings, darkening my feathers. "Stupid –insert mean name here-, go die in a hole!" I yelled through gritted teeth. I drew my fist back and aimed it directly at its ugly face. 'Another one down, only like, twenty to go' I thought. Making sure Nudge was okay, I flew off to help Iggy. There were only two chasing him now, so when Iggy flew towards me, I yelled "veer right".

He obeyed, and the dogs couldn't turn fast enough, so one of them flew right into my fist. "Score!" I heard Gazzy yelling above me. The other one flew past my fist, but hooked onto my left leg. The sudden movement caused my leg to be yanked down harshly. The pain wasn't quite excruciating, but it still hurt like… heck. I tried to throw him off, but a devilish grin spread across his muzzle, and I got yet _another_ bad feeling.

His wings tucked in, leaving his full weight on my ankle. _Now_ it was excruciating, very, very much so. The pain jackknifed up my body, and a pure, extremely high note burst from my lips. Everything grew dark, the last thing I heard was someone yelling, "Catch Silver!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Ugh, hnh… Wha-" yep, the most intelligent thing to come out of my mouth when gaining consciousness. I slowly opened my eyes to too bright, white lights. My first thought was I was back in the horrible School. Then I took a look around and realized that I was in a hospital… not much better.

"Am I dead?" I wondered aloud, not thinking I would get an answer. And imagine my surprise when someone answered "no, but you almost were." I tried to sit up, but a throbbing pain behind my eyes forced me back down. "Welcome back to the living." This time I recognized the voice as Iggy, plus his face now hovered over me. I wanted so bad to wipe that sarcastic smirk off of his face.

"Shut up, and get me some water." He grabbed something out of my line of vision, which turned out to be a bottle of water. I grabbed it and promptly began guzzling it all away. "Thanks." I smiled, now that my throat wasn't dry as a desert, I felt somewhat better.

This time I forced myself to sit up, trying to get past the throbbing in my brain. Now I could see my whole room, with its ugly bland walls. There was a small T.V., two other beds, a couch, and a bunch of little machines. I looked down at my finger and saw that I was hooked up to one of those machines that show your heart beat. "How long was I out?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Only about 6 hours." I looked at Iggy incredulously. "I was out for that short! Wow, normally I'm out for at least a day." Iggy gave me this look and opened his mouth to ask something, but was cut off when Nudge came running in. "Silver! You're awake, finally! You wouldn't believe what happened after you fell unconscious. All of the Erasers committed suicide! Angel swears she didn't do it, you know, because she can make people do things with her mind! Anyways-" Iggy put his hand over her mouth.

I laughed, which turned into a small cough, my throat still parched. When Iggy removed his hand, Nudge let loose one more comment before turning to go. "Oh, and Fang's in surgery." My eyes probably would have popped out if I was in one of those old timey cartoons. "WHAT?!" I yelled. Actually that reaction was a bit extreme, considering I've only known these guys for a day now, but they were the only friends I've had since… never mind.

"Fangs gonna be okay, sore, but okay. One of the Erasers made a pretty big gash in his side." Now I was confused, since when were we fighting erasers? "What erasers? We were fighting Wolfies." Iggy's lips spread in an amused smile. "You call them _Wolfies_? We call them Erasers, because the get rid of _mistakes_." He spat out the word 'mistakes'.

And in my defense, I was really little when I first saw the Wol- Erasers. You know how little kid minds work. Then Iggy's face grew deadly serious again, his sightless eyes trained in my direction. "So what was that about 'I'm normally out for a day'?" I squirmed a bit, uncomfortable with his pale blue gaze settled on me.

"If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone else, besides Max, unless absolutely necessary?" He nodded his head yes, and for some reason, I believed him. "Okay, well… I'm part siren."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Hope you liked it! Sorry that there wasn't that much of Silver/Iggy. =( I was going to write more, but thought 'Naw, these guys need an update now'! so please remember to comment and stuff.**


	4. LOVE LOVE LOVE, UGH! chap 4

**Hey guys! Don't own nutin' besides Silver and… wait… I'm not gonna tell you the surprise character! You'll just have to read and find out!!! I'm so evil!!! =) thanks for all the reviews! **

Iggy looked utterly confused, which was kind of cu- UGH! I mean, you know… shut up! Anyways, back to Iggy looking totally lost. "What is a siren?" I figured he wouldn't know what it is. "A siren is a 'mythological' creature that has deadly songs. When I sing, things tend to explode or die." Iggy looked like he was deciding whether he just got a present from Santa or an F on his finals. "If things that hear your song die, then why didn't we, the flock, die? We heard your song just like the Erasers."

That, my friends, is a very good question. "I can direct my songs at the person, or in this case, people, who are hurting or threatening me. It's same with the exploding thing. And no, I can't make people explode." Iggy looked a little down cast about the no-explode-people thing, but hey; I don't want people guts all over me!

Then he smiled and said "so you're like a musical bomb?" I laughed so hard at that, because I had never thought about it that way. "Yeah, I'm a musical bomb. Wind me up and, la di da, BOOM!" then I noticed that the front of Iggy's shirt was wet and looked down at the remains of the once whole bottle. That just made me laugh harder, because now Iggy was soaking wet.

"Now help me up, I can't stand laying down for so long." That and the hospital room was starting to freak me out. I swung my legs over the side, relieved to find that I still had my old jeans on. I jumped up, not so carefully and nearly ended up on the floor. The room tilted sideways and my knees buckled. Iggy grabbed my elbow, and I gripped onto his forearm.

"Are you always like this after singing?" Iggy wasn't looking at me, rather down at the floor, but I could still see the blush. "Only after the really long or really destructive songs. Otherwise, it's just a headache and wooziness, possibly a blackout." I wasn't looking at Iggy either, my own blush heating my face. I let go of his arm, trying a tentative step, sighing with relief when I didn't fall on my face. We walked, slowly, down the hall towards the waiting room.

I was greeted with something that I definitely did not expect, a small bouncing ball of black fur. "Aaaahh, WHAT THE HAY!?" Now I was on my butt, trying desperately to avoid the pink tongue lunging for my face. "Total, get off of Silver, it's impolite to lick someone that you don't know!" Angel was pulling the dog (as I finally realized that is what it was) off of my chest.

"Since when did you guys get a dog? Last I checked, you were dogless." Okay, so I never actually checked, but why the heck would I? They are mutant bird kids on the run from an evil school that wants to do evil experiments on them. WHEN DID THEY STOP TO GET A DOG?!?!

"He's not actually ours. Angel rescued him from a lab in New York." I turned to find Max walking over to me. I hadn't noticed her sitting in one of the chairs, being attacked by a dog and all. Max looked like trash, actually, everyone did. I probably looked worse, considering I haven't had a shower for like, 3 years? When I looked down at my hands, I saw dirt and who knows what crammed in my fingernails.

Aside from personal hygiene (which I have none of), her face was creased in a worried frown. "Uh, I heard about Fang… he gonna be okay?" That was probably the worst attempt at cheering someone up, because Max's frown drooped even farther. "I don't kno-""Maximum Ride?" a doctor wearing a sterile white coat came over to us. Everyone visibly tensed, including me. "May I speak with you about your, um, brother?" Max nodded curtly to the doctor, tapping Iggy's hand twice before following him off somewhere.

A nurse who had been standing behind the doctor looked over at us. "Miss Ride, you should not be out of your bed!" she paused and looked at Iggy. "You can take her there." With that said, she turned on her heel and left to find the doctor and Max. "And just when I was having fun." I whined sarcastically, wiping the remains of dog drool off my face. Iggy laughed and swept his hand out as if to say 'lead the way'.

Still muttering to myself, I started to walk back towards my room. After what seemed like ten minutes, the room still wasn't in sight. "Silver, are you okay?" I could hear Iggy calling my name, but I was too concentrated on not tripping. Then I felt someone's arm around me, halting my, not so much, progress.

"Silver, _are you okay_?" I looked up and saw a blurry Iggy, not really making out the concerned look on his face. "Guess the nurse was right, I should of stayed in bed." I smiled and slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Iggy's POV**

I felt Silver move past me, her arm just barely brushing mine. She was so nice… and cool… and probably cute too. Everyone pretty much seemed to love her, except Max, who doesn't really trust anyone. Speaking of which, she put me in charge, so I should just drop silver I off in her room then go back to the flock.

About three minutes later, I could hear a strange choking sound. "Silver, are you okay?" I realized that the noise was Silver trying to breath. I felt her warmth, which now seemed to warm, drawing nearer to me. Reaching out, I put my arm around what I guessed to be her chest.

She was sweating badly and her temperature was, well, hotter than a normal person. "Silver, _are you okay_?" She seemed to hear me and I felt her head turning in my direction. "Guess the nurse was right; I should have stayed in bed." Then her full weight was on my right arm. I reach out quickly, putting my left under her knees. I lifted her up, her head resting gently on my chest.

'Oh gosh, oh man! She feels so… strong, and her skin, it's so smooth' her hair tickled my neck. I started walking towards her room again, remembering the number of steps it took to walk there. When we finally reached there, Silver was whimpering in her sleep, probably having a bad dream. I walked to where the bed should be, but stopped when I felt something gripping my shirt. Silver's knuckles pressed into my ribs, not harshly, her other hand grabbing my left arm.

Instead of setting her down on the bed, I felt around for a chair with my foot. Finding one next to where the pillow would be, I sat down, maneuvering Silver around so as not to hurt her. She let out another moan, and on instinct (or from listening to Max), I started rocking her, saying "shh shh" and stuff.

After a few minutes, she quieted, but her grip on my shirt remained firm. That's when I noticed my own exhaustion; the full force of it came in one big sigh. 'The others should be fine without me, they're big kids now.' And with that, I put my head back, closed my eyes (as if I needed to), and brought Silver closer to my chest.

With my arms unconsciously wrapping protectively around her, I fell into a blissful sleep.

**Hoping that you guys liked it!! Yay Iggy and Silver romance! Now just a little reminder here… REVIEW!! Pweety pwease?! Oh and, I don't share Silver's thoughts on personal hygiene. Please take showers, deodorant, brush teeth, yada yada etc. Bye Bye for now and things like that!... … … … … BLERG!!!!!!!!!$! Special thanks to Zoezaz, soccergal12, Madison, and UNERLANDERfromtheOVERLAND for the reviews!**


	5. ROLLERCOASTER! chap 5

**Super sorry for the long wait you guys!! Writers block is now my number one enemy… that and the Pillsbury dough boy. Don't ask. Well, I don't own Max and or any of the other characters. I own Silver, I hope. Otherwise, yeah, that would just stink. Enjoy!**

The steady thump of Iggy's heart slowly turned into footsteps, tapping across a linoleum floor. They seemed menacing and evil; yes, footsteps seemed evil. It's really sad when you become so scared and paranoid that someone walking across the floor sends chills up your spine. A man suddenly leered at me, interrupting my train of thought. His face was rough, a brown beard giving him a mountainous man look. He spoke, but the words came out in gibberish, his voice agitated.

He reached down andbrought out a syringe filled with a clear, bubbly liquid. He moved to insert it in my arm when the scene changed. I was sitting huddled in my dog crate, cold and in immense pain, even though I couldn't actually feel the pain. Tears streamed down my cheeks, leaving clean trails. Across from me, someone was screaming angry words, filled with hate and torture.

I knew that I needed to help this person, but my legs felt dead and the salty tears were blinding me. I let out a cry of frustration and anguish, but nothing happened, and then the screams died, and my heart broke. Once again the background changed, now leaving me in a shadowed forest. I felt the fear, constant fear, gripping me harder than I'd ever known, threatening to suffocate me.

I heard the crashing sound of someone heavy and broad, running through the underbrush. My sweat traveled down to the tip of my nose, hanging there for a split second before dropping into the spongy pine needles. I ran and ran, hoping to find a light or a clearing, but none appeared. The sound of someone chasing grew louder with each step, and just as I thought that I was doomed, the earth gave way to paved road. A highway lay before me, cars speeding past in quick succession. I stuck my arm out, hoping to catch someone's attention.

A blue sedan slowed down and the lady in the driver's seat rolled her window down. "Hello, need a lift?" I nodded my head vigorously and jumped in the back without even thinking. She turned around and smiled, but I was too exhausted to even grimace back. She pulled away, saying something to the man next to her, glancing in the mirror hanging above her. Not really paying attention, I glanced back and caught a glimpse of a wolf like thing on two legs disappearing into the dense woods.

As I turned around to thank the lady, the car disappeared; everything became pitch black, no sound, feel, or sight. And then, as the panic began to settle, I woke up. The pounding in my head had died away and nothing hurt. In fact, I felt better than I had in… months! I snuggled deeper into the warmth holding me and was rewarded with a soft sigh. Now, I know that I don't know much, but beds should not sigh. I gasped as I looked into the pale blue eyes of none other than Iggy!

His mouth dropped into an 'O' of surprise. He started to gasp as if sucking in air. "I… I-I didn't, I mean you- and then-I just," he stammered, searching for an answer. He was saved when someone by the door cleared their throat, and now I was way beyond embarrassed. Someone had seen me in Iggy's arms! They probably thought that we had done this on purpose, that we l- loved each other! I turned ready to tell Angel, or Gazzy or whoever that it was a huge mistake, but I did not expect to turn my pleading eyes onto a man in a stiff black suit.

"My name's Agent Clenning, with the FBI. My associates and I would like to talk with you." His voice was firm and commanding, which matched his appearance. He had shoulders almost as wide as the doorway, buzz cut hair, and stone cold eyes that gave me a foreboding sense. I did not like the guy, and definitely was not going to go with him ANYWHERE. "Sorry, Mr. Agent Clenning with the FBI, but I don't think that we'll be going with you. If you don't mind, on your way out, would you tell the nurse that the beds here are a bit lumpy?"

Iggy dug his elbow into me, but I could see him smiling. Agent Clenning still stood in the doorway, obviously not amused by my joke. "We already have the rest of your group with us, and we have provided food. Now, if _you_ don't mind, would you please untangle yourselves and follow me." Agent Clenning smiled to himself as he watched my face go from ghost white to bright pink.

I got up off of Iggy, who wore the same embarrassed expression as I did. _Fine, if you want to play hard ball, then we can play hard ball!_ This guy was messing with the wrong mutant bird girl! I followed the jerk out into the hallway and continued to follow until we stopped at a room that had been converted into some sort of conference room. There were two more agents seated at the table that had been set out. "Hello, please come in and make yourselves comfortable. There's some food if you want." Clenning went to go sit down with his fellow agents.

I stared at the tray of food that was set before me, trying hard to keep the drool in my mouth. I looked around at the others and noticed that none of them were even touching their food. _Great, _I thought, _why do we have to be so suspicious?_ Even though my stomach groaned inprotest, I pushed the tray back a bit. About five, hunger filled minutes later, Max was escorted in. Don't ask why, but relief suddenly filled my gut. Max glanced at the others, and a flash of pride filled her eyes.

"Hello, Max, we were waiting for you to join us." The one and only female agent in the room spoke to Max, while gesturing to everyone in the room. "Would you like something to eat?" A tray was brought in for her, the eggs steaming under her nose. Max regarded the food with careful wariness. "Don't trust us, huh? I don't blame you. Here?" The woman reached over and took a bite out of Max's eggs. The other agents followed her example and took bites out of the other's food as well.

We all stared at them, as if waiting for their skin to fall off and their eyes to fall out. When that didn't happen, Max nodded to us and we fell on our food as if we were starving… okay, so we were starving. When we were done, Gazzy asked for another two trays, and even though I wanted two more as well, I refrained from asking. "Now, why are you here?" Max sounded calm and collected, which seemed odd to me, considering what has happened in the last 24 hours.

"We heard that you were having trouble and decided to stop by." I wanted to laugh so hard, I had to bite my lip. The FBI doesn't stop in on people in the hospital because they 'heard they were having trouble and decided to stop by'. Max was obviously thinking along the same lines when she responded with a derisive snort. "Aren't most people in the hospital _having trouble_?" The lady almost smiled at the retort, which meant she must have some sort of sense of humor. "We just want to ask some questions, and you know how the saying goes, you scratch my back and I scratch yours."

Aw, how the world has gone downhill! I remember a world where you did things for people out of the kindness in your heart… okay, so I don't remember that world, but I've heard of it. I looked over at Max, expecting her to say something smart beck, but I was shocked into seeing her head bob in agreement. Where did the smart-alicy, distrustful, suspicious person that I've grown somewhat fond of, go?!

"Right in here, and don't worry, we won't put you in separate rooms." The lady opened the door to a connecting room where more tables had been spread throughout the small space. 2 minutes later, and we were all sitting at separate spots at different tables, facing our own agents. And, as my luck would have it, I got stuck with none other than Agent Clenning.

The smug look that crossed his face told me that he was definitely going to have some fun with this. "So, Silver… how long have you known the others?" I stared hard at his face, trying to find the double meaning, or threat in his question. "Not long." I answered truthfully. He wrote a note in the little pad of paper by his hand. "Do you know who Jeb Batchelder is?" He held up a picture of a man that looked to be in his thirties or forties, with thinning brown hair and soft brown eyes. "No." Again, I answered truthfully, because none of these questions deemed themselves to be all that important to me.

The next question, though, rocked my world right out of its pendulum swing. "Have you ever seen this boy before?" I couldn't stop the flash of hurt, anger, and betrayal from leaking into my eyes. "No." I answered coldly, the lie coming out as a harsh winter blizzard. Clenning looked at me for a moment more before writing something on his note pad again. "You know, you'd be helping us a lot if you told the truth."

My eyes narrowed into angry slits, the blue flashing like a lightning storm in progress. "I don't care about helping you right now, and I doubt that I ever will care. Just leave me and my friends alone, and I won't kill you in your sleep." Clenning just smiled at me, the calm grin agitating me even farther. "Threats won't work on me, freak." And with that, he got up and walked away, leaving me confused and boiling.

Why would he say that? Wasn't he claiming to be the good guy? Good guys don't call the damsels in distress freaks… do they? I got out of my chair and walked, in a confused daze, over to where everyone, aside from Max, were sitting. I sat down in time to hear Nudge asked Gazzy "Did they show you a picture of a boy in the mall?"

Gazzy nodded his head to Nudge and smiled over at me. I managed to put on a weak grin so as to hide my true feelings. Iggy scooted closer to me and handed me a roll. I took it from him gratefully, and blushed when my hand brushed his.

No fourteen-or-some year old girl should have to ride an emotional rollercoaster like this. One minute I'm warm in Iggy's arms, the next I'm following an FBI agent down the hall. And if that wasn't enough, a picture, that conjures all sorts of nasty images from my past, just has to be included in an interview for _FBI Weekly: The Bird Kid Story_. Now, here I was, blushing about skin to skin contact with Iggy! _WHEN WILL MY LIFE BE NORMAL!_ At that exact moment, Max walked over with Agent Blonde.

AB gave Max a significant look before going back to consult with some other FBI stiffs. "So, what are we going to do now?" Angel looked innocently up at Max, voicing the one thought in everyone's head right now. "Right now, we are going to go see Fang and talk over our hotel options." Max bent down and ruffled Angel's limp blonde hair.

I smiled to myself, picturing Max as the affectionate and protective mother that she could be. But the picture that Clenning had pushed in my face earlier brought the emotional raincloud back. I shivered as my mind did a close up of the face that had haunted me since the day I presumably turned six. His dark chocolate skin and pine green eyes combining to give off a forest appeal.

Only one name kept me up at night in complete and utter terror.

_**Jason**_

**Hope you guys liked it! I wanted to write more, but you guys and you hunger for reading are far more important than you finding out who Jason is! *grins evilly* Naw, I think that I'm going to make you guys suffer a bit before the big reveal! With lots of love, Mangatiger14… and if you guys have any plot ideas, just put them in the review and they might end up in the story!**


	6. OH SNAP! chap 6

**Hey you guys, don't own anything that was in the original Max books! Wish that I did, but I don't! I apologize ahead of time if some of the things in the story are a bit off from the book! And I am sooo sorry for the wait, but I have way too much stuff to do and literally couldn't get on the computer! Hope you like it!**

Sitting alone in an empty hospital room, waiting for the morning to come, provides too much thinking time. Only about three hours ago Max had told us that we were going to stay at Anne Walker's house (Agent Blondie). We were currently in Fang's hospital room, trying to get some sleep before we left the next day.

_I_ had given up on the whole sleeping thing about twenty minutes ago when I woke up in a cold sweat after have a particularly nasty dream.

My mind was working on over drive, trying to figure out how in the heck I had come to be here. The only interruption being the occasional snores drifting from Iggy's sleeping form. I wanted so badly to be back in his arms, asleep; pretending that we were the only two people in the world… like that was ever going to happen!

Since when did I start getting so romantic? I felt like I should punch something or even someone, but decided that course of action was probably not a good one right now.

The only thing that was really bugging me was the image of that picture that Clenning had waved about my eyes. I had been working so hard to forget Jason, and here he was, showing up in my life again. Gosh, I hated him… I hated him with a passion. I hated him with a passion that not even a fat man fighting for the last Twinkie could achieve. Oh yeah, it was that intense.

His sneering face kept clouding my brain every time that I closed my eyes. The words that he had said to me last kept repeating over and over again in my brain. _"You'll always be friendless, I'll make sure of that."_ His voice was like the hissing of a snake, venomous and fear inducing. I shuddered inwardly at the threat, willing it to the back of my mind. _He won't find me; he won't find me_ kept repeating itself, trying to hide the fear away.

Now, normally, I'm not afraid of him. He never could bring me back to that God forsaken school, no matter how hard he tried. But this time was different, because this time, he had people he could use against me. Back then, I had no friends, no one near and dear to me, but things have changed. I shook my head, trying desperately to clear the morbid thoughts away. 

Ugh, brain ache. I never was one that could think too long or hard.

I took one last look at the others and closed my eyes, hoping for a peaceful slumber. The last thing I remembered was seeing Max get up and run frantically to the bathroom.

"Ten more minutes mommy, please?" Nope. "I don't wanna go to school!" Erh, wrong. "Get your dang tongue outa my ear!" Ding ding ding, we have a winner!

I woke up in a bad mood, which I think was justified considering I had just gotten another tongue bath from Total. I was trying to wipe the remains of his doggy saliva out of my ear when Anne Walker came marching into the room. "Morning everyone, I hope you slept well."

How can someone be so cheery and loud in the morning?

She leaned over and whispered something to the doctor, who whispered something back and then left. "Well, Nick is going to stay here for a while longer, just until he heals up some more. I trust that Max told you about our plans?"

I almost forgot who she was talking about until I remembered Max telling us about the fake names. Max sent her a glare full of anger and a hint of respect. "Nuh uh, we aren't leaving here without F-Nick. On the contrary, Nick's coming with us." Max stared right into Anne's face, daring her to protest.

"I'm sorry, but Nick isn't well enough to travel yet, much less get out of bed." I caught the pointed look that Fang sent her way as he swung his legs out of bed and stood up.

"Nick!" Anne yelled, running over to push him back in the bed, but the hand that Fang held up stopped her. "I'm fine, better than fine in fact." He held up his shirt to reveal the already healing pink scar tissue.

Now I would like to say that this proof was enough and that we were on the road in only 10 minutes listening to Lady Gaga sing Poker Face, but no, it's never that simple. An adult can't just accept the fact that we heal at an exceptional rate, they have to argue until they finally lose in a sad defeat.

So it was more like 30 minutes before we were on the road, staring out at one of the most fantastic sceneries in our sad and miserable lives. "Wow, those hills are like actually rolling and stuff. And those trees! Are they apple trees? Oh my gosh, this is so amazing!" Nudge's face was practically glued to the window, her eyes soaking in all of the lush greens and pretty fall colors.

"Yeah, this really is pretty, like farm house pretty, you know? I mean, you actually live here?" I was also amazed by this, because I thought that Anne would live near the city and not out in this middle-of-nowhere place.

Anne nodded her head, but both her and Max were too concentrated on Fang to answer. He looked pale, and he winced at every bump. Poor guy. Must be _so_ tough being him (UGH).

"Hey Silver, look there are horses!" Angel grabbed me from my daydreams and pointed out the window at this beautiful white horse. "Cool!" Gazzy shouted from my other side.

15 minutes later, and we were pulling in front of a big house with the most amazing yard in the history of yards.

"So I'm going to show you your rooms and then get dinner started while you guys look around!" Anne said as we piled out of the car and through her front door. We went up a set of stairs and then down a long hallway, finally stopping at the first room.

"Iggy and Gazzy can stay here in this room." Both boys let out little war woops and ran into the room. We left them there to get settled and continued down the hallway.

"Angel and Nudge may have this room." The room was smaller than the boys, but it was by far the pinkest place I had seen in a house. Once again, we abandoned them to get settled and once again continued on our way.

I started to visibly pale as we reached the next door. I could see a pattern forming and I did not like where this was headed. "And this here will be Max's room."

HUH?! She didn't pair us up like I had expected! Wow, that… was… odd. "And the other two boys can share this room!"

...

Max started snickering and Fang looked about ready to implode. At that moment, Iggy and Gazzy happened to walk up behind us, and from the way they were on the floor with tears spilling out of their eyes, they had heard every word.

"Why are you laughing?" Anne was smiling at each of us, too stupid to notice the look of utter disbelief plastered on my face. "Y-y-you're in th-the FBI, right?" I stuttered. She nodded her head, giving me a weird look. Max doubled over in a new wave of laughter.

"**HOW IN THE WORLD CAN YOU MISTAKE ME FOR A BOY YOU LITTLE—"** Max's hand flew over my mouth before I had the chance to finish that unsavory sentence, but that didn't help the sound of me screaming my head off at this lady. I AM NOT A BOY!!!!

Anne's face went from confusion, to understanding, to a horrific color of red that made her look like a fire truck on fire. "Oh my gosh, I am soooooo sorry! It's just that your hair and you haven't bathed in forever I'm guessing! And your clothes… I am so sorry!"

I swear that if I had a match in my hand, that pretty blonde hair of hers wouldn't be so pretty anymore! I smacked Max's hand away and stomped into the room that she assigned Max.

SISISISISISISISISISISISISISI

So I sulked for the rest of the day, only coming down for dinner and then leaving to sit outside after that. No one even tried to come near me, my evil death glare proving sufficient. I currently sat out on the front porch, watching the stars travel across the sky.

I glanced up at the window that looked out from the room that Max and I now shared. The light was on and I could see shapes moving past the glass. They were doing something and I really didn't feel like going in, so I shook my wings out and jumped into the air.

The trees that surrounded the area looked like a sea that could hold a new world. I dove in and practiced swerving and ducking, dodging the branches that swung out at me. I leaned left and glanced back, hoping to see the squirrel I had just startled. There was no squirrel, but something much more sinister.

His eyes were glowing yellow and everything about him looked feral and cat like. Even his stance on the tree branch was that of a cat. I knew there was no avoiding it now, the inevitable truth that had been chasing me was going to rear its ugly head sooner or later. I just wish it hadn't chosen _sooner_, because now I was completely off guard. Fate, I _really_ hate you!

"Why such an angry face? Why not come and give me a hug, _friend."_ Jason taunted me from his perch.  
I was stunned by how much fear was seeping into my heart. The anger and hatred I felt for this one person was frightening.

I glided not so gracefully onto a branch opposite of his, keeping my eyes on him the entire time. "How has life treated you lately, Mr. Pussy cat?" I smirk when his grin faltered, his ego not letting the insult go by unnoticed.

"Actually, if you must know, my life is going wonderfully! They've moved me up in the ranks since you disappeared." His grin returned, yet less sinister, more prideful. "Ah, so now you are what, head toilet cleaner, shoe shiner, oh I know! Now, instead of just flattery, you're now kissing their-"the wind was knocked out of me as something close to a bullet train rammed into my chest.

So maybe taunting the evil, genetically enhanced cat man was not the smartest thing to do, but hey, it was funny and stress relieving!

"Still think that I can't kill you?" Jason snarled in my face. And I mean like the real snarl, not that fake junk people do when they get oh so _super angry_. "The answer is the same as last time. If you couldn't kill me in an alley with nowhere to go and my wing broken, you can't kill me in a forest full of hiding spots with two perfectly intact wings!" I'm not sure, but I think that remark made him even angrier! Well that, or him punching me in the mouth is his way of laughing.

"You just don't get it, do you? I AM MORE POWERFUL, STRONGER, FASTER, AND-"

"No, no! You are not going to say it!" He paused midsentence.

"Say what?"

"I forbid you to say 'AND BUILT TO LAST LONGER!' I will not have you quoting cheesy ads during our fight!"

Note to self; unless you want to be in a world of pain, you will not interrupt the baddy, which is on top of you, during his long and dumb monolog.

Now not only did my mouth hurt, but my cheek stung pretty badly from the claw marks running down it. _Stop taunting and fight already!_ Using my knees, I pushed up on Jason's stomach, throwing him off of me and allowing me some time to stand.

Jason grinned as he got up. "Looks like you're going to take me seriously now." I didn't respond, instead, I jumped up and shot my leg out at him. He was expecting it and just twisted my foot so that I did a little ninja flip to his right. I landed on my feet, but Jason was quick and he charged while I was still off guard.

He started throwing punches wildly, trying to hit something or other. I dodged them easily, but he landed a few in my midriff. _Yeah, that'll be a nice bruise tomorrow._ I silently prayed that there would be a tomorrow.

I focused on where his punches were aimed and found that he wasn't guarding as well as attacking, so I went in to use my own attack. He over stepped and I grabbed his wrist, pulling him forward while ramming my knee into… well, let's say it would hurt a lot.

Jason doubled over clutching 'said area', fire that would put hell to shame burning up in his eyes. "Did that hurt the wittle kitty?" I mocked him, while taking a few steps back. I wanted to get the heck out of there, but the trees were too dense where we were.

"Don't… runaway… stupid… bird." Jason wheezed out, lunging at me in an attempt to grab me. I danced out of his way, glad that I had slowed him down a bit. I didn't see him lunge from behind though, so I ended up face first in the dust.

Something warm and gooey started to make its way down my wing before the pain actually registered.

I screamed out as a wave of searing pain in my shoulder coursed through my skin with each beat of my heart.

Then came the series of blows landed on my spine that I swear was someone dropping twenty pound weights on me. I jerked up and to my left, managing to free myself from my attacker, but it also shoved dirt and grit into the long cut that was trailing down my shoulder.

I knew that the fight was going to get nowhere and at this rate, I would be in a sack on my way to the School in no time if I didn't do something now. Pulling as much air as I could get in my lungs, I let out a series of six sharp notes.

"AAAAAARRRGGGGG!" Jason yelled, his hands flying to his ears. "Next time… next time your song won't work! You will join, I swear you will!" And with that, he jumped into the trees, and melted into the darkness that had settled in during the fight.

"Yeah, right, like I'll ever join _that _group." I tried to sit up, but the pain and exhaustion was too much. The last thing I saw was the moon shining into my dark corner.

**Okay so hey! Hope you liked it and stuff! I am so sorry for the long wait, but hey! Any who, I am so happy about the reviews I've gotten and love the support and ideas that people give. More of Jason and Silver's relationship will be explained later on, but for now, you'll have to guess. In fact, send in your guesses with the review and I'll PM you if you're close!! Love ya'll! And don't forget, READ REVIEW AND TELL A FRIEND!!!!**


	7. OW chap 7

"_Wake up Silver. Wake up sweetie." Hair like waves of midnight tickled my nose. The voice was soft as wind and oddly cold despite the warm words it whispered into my ear._ "Oh gosh, my everything hurts!" my voice was raspy and set a flame through my chest and jaw. Though it hurt a lot, I opened my eyes to find that what I thought was hair was actually a branch of leaves hanging loosely from the tree I had been resting against.

I looked around and found the forest in a state of destruction. There were branches fallen from trees and mounds of dirt piled up where we had thrown each other. In some of the tree trunks there were gouges from Jason's claws. The branch above my face was only hanging on by a thin strip of bark.

The forest wasn't the only thing in such a state. My pants had been torn through; one of the legs was almost completely gone. My ankle was twisted a bit and I figured it was sprained. The worse was my torso; blood soaked into my shirt leaving dark violet stains on the light blue tee-shirt. The gash on back was painful as anything and I could feel the grit and dirt rubbing farther into it. Part of my shirt was torn and I could just see the dark purple and blue bruises forming all over my chest.

If I had a mirror, I'm sure that my face wouldn't be any prettier. I could feel the blood drying over where Jason had clawed at my face. My jaw was throbbing in a painful sort of way, creating a sort of rhythm of pain.

I grimaced as I tried getting to my feet, trying to keep the weight off of my injured ankle. I breathed deeply as I took a few steps into the middle of the small clearing. It hadn't been clear in the beginning of the fight, but two mutants with a passion for destroying things could clear even the densest of forests.

I stretched out my wings and cried out. Yet as much as it hurt, I knew I wouldn't be able to walk all the way back to Anne's house. I sucked in as much breath as I could and jumped up while pushing down with my wings. I soared painfully upward, trying hard not to scream in agony.  


Never in my life had I felt so exhausted, so horribly nauseous, and had to do dishes.

When I had flewn into my window, I immediately took a shower. The dirt and blood mixed together in a watery mass and I nearly fell asleep as the welcomed warmth ran down my body. After the heavenly shower, I bandaged up the cuts and wrapped my ankle with gauze (Anne has some very lovely first aid kits). Lastly, I put on the lightest pajamas I could find and fell into a deep slumber as soon as my head hit the pillow.

In the morning, I was in near panic as I saw my face in the mirror. There were purple bruises by my jaw bone and two long scratches reaching from my eye to my throat; a bit too close to the jugular in my opinion. I had lifted the shirt, only to find a very similar condition. My ankle was less swollen than last night, but still noticeable none the less.

I had taken two deep breaths, trying to calm down and think of some solution to this problem. That's when I had seen the cover up sitting on my counter. The color was similar to my skin color and I silently thanked Anne for not moving it. So I applied a thick layer over the bruises on my face and anywhere else that they could still be seen. Then, I put more of that fancy cut cleaning stuff on my face and put two new bandages on… okay, more like six.

After that, I pulled on a long sleeve shirt and long pants; luckily, they covered my swollen ankle. I looked in the mirror and was happy to see that the only thing that was very noticeable was the Band-Aids over my cuts.

With that crisis settled, I headed down stairs to get some breakfast. That's where I met Anne, who was drinking an energy drink and eating a protein bar. "Oh, hello… Silver! What in the world happened to your face!" _Oh ha ha, so funny;_ _wait, she's being serious!_ "Oh, um… I crashed into a tree last night and sorta cut my face up." I laughed a bit nervously. "Oh, why didn't you come and tell me? Are you sure you're okay? Want me to check?" Even though she asked this as if she were sincere, there was something in her eyes that told me to turn down the offer.

"I'm fine, just a bit sore." I lied, pulling the sleeve down a bit to hide one of my many bruises. "Well, if that's the case, would you mind doing a few dishes for me? You guys sure ate a lot last night!" Her laugh was warm, but her eyes were searing holes into me. _Why do all of the semi nice people hate me?_ Even the hot dog venders hated me! I thought they were supposed to be friendly to everyone!

"Sure, I'll do them." And that's how I ended up doing the dishes while every fiber of my body screamed for more sleep. "Hey! What are you doing up so early? You look more like the sleep late type!" Nudge came bursting in, talking nonstop about late sleepers and other things. I squeezed my eyes shut as a migraine started up.

Thankfully, Max came in at that moment and shot Nudge a death glare, telling her to shut up. I sighed as the headache dulled down, though it lingered in the back of my mind, waiting to incapacitate me. "I hate mornings." Max stated as she came over and casually picked up a dish. She began drying them in a rhythmic way and I gave her an odd look. "Hey, it's part of my mess too. Sides, you look like crud. What happened to your face?" Again, I cringed as the comment first registered as an insult. "Ran into a tree." I mumbled; it was embarrassing, but I didn't want her to think too much on it.

"Hmm, and it gave you two perfect scratches down your jaw line? Looks like it was aiming to kill, due to how close they are to your jugular." _Crap,_ I thought, turning away. "Yeah, guess they didn't think I'm that eco friendly. How was your night?" Lame way to change topics, but I had to get her off my back somehow.

"…" I glanced over at her and saw her jaw tensed up and guessed she didn't want to talk about it. I guess we had mutual feelings right now. "I'll leave you to tell me on your own time, so long as you do the same for me." She looked like she was trying not to punch me. I smiled at her, somewhat strained, and nodded my head.

"Hey." Mr. Dark and Scary walked in, looking sleepy and grumpy. "Hey." I replied, spraying soap off of the last dish. "What's for breakfast?" Gazzy and Iggy both walked in with major cases of bead head. Lastly, Angel came in, perky and too cute; I hate perky morning people.

"Just because you had a rough night doesn't mean you should hate morning people." Angel smiled at me sweetly and I felt a prick of fear. It's not that she was scary, but it was the fact that she knew about my night. "Um, your just guessing, right?" I asked, trying to keep the hint of fright out of my voice.

"I heard you telling Anne about running into a tree." She smiled up at me and I knew she was lying. I didn't care so long as she didn't tell anyone else. "What rough night are you guys talking about?" Iggy had come over to stand near me and he placed his hand lightly on my arm. I let my hair cover up the blush that was forming on my cheeks.

"I… ran into a tree." Iggy's face scrunched up in a really adorable way; yes… I did say adorable. "Are you okay?" his hand tightened somewhat on my arm and the blush returned full force. "Yeah, just a bit sore." Now Fang was also looking over at me, his eyes searching my own. I could've sworn max was sending me a death glare while Fang was observing me, but maybe I'm just paranoid.  


Breakfast had been uneventful; the talk of our **nights** had ended when Anne came in. Iggy had sat as close to me as possible and Fang kept sending me odd looks. Gazzy had cleared the table with… I'll spare you the details. Now I was sitting under a tree watching Angel and Gazzy jumping into the pond.

I would've joined them if it weren't for my injuries, but I didn't want the cover up to wash off and show the true extent of the bruises.

I was busy watching Gazzy annoy Max as Iggy made his way over to me. "So you really ran into a tree?" I jumped and grinned sheepishly as I nodded my head. Iggy smiled slightly and touched my face. His smile turned into a frown as he traced my bandages. Then his hands moved to my rib cage and I blushed furiously. He poked at my ribs and I winced as he hit a bruise. His frown deepened and he moved down to inspect my legs. I couldn't help the gasp of pain that escaped me when he lightly touched my ankle.

"I don't like the feel of your ankle. It may be broken and so may one or two of your ribs. Silver… what happened?" I looked at Iggy as if he had just ripped out one of my teeth. "I told you; I ran into a tree." Iggy shook his head. "No, I mean what **really** happened." I bit down on the inside of my cheek; _ow_.

As I opened my mouth to say 'nothing', I heard Max yelling. Both Iggy and I ran over. "What? Are we under attack? WAAAAA!" I screamed as I noticed that Total was saying something; **saying something**. Dogs should not talk! "You're talking!"I yelled. "Yes, I do believe I am." Total smiled at me, well, as smiley as a dog could be.

Suddenly, my astonishment faded. After growing up in a lab where there were things that should not exist, existed, I was surprisingly unsurprised. "Well… that's nice."

**So here's chapter… whichever. Sorry it took so long but the lack of response to my last chapter set me in a sorta depression. But I pulled out of it and managed to get this one done! HAHA! I like the Silver+Iggy in this chapter! Well… see ya!  
READ  
REVIEW & TELL A FRIEND!**


	8. NO WAY! Chapter 8

**UNDERLANDERfromtheOVERLAND, you are by far the most annoying person on the planet and I thank God you were born. Without you, Enna moon, and Team theft's reviews and PM's, I'm pretty sure I would have forgotten I was writing a story…. *grins sheepishly* hehe.**

**So… anything else silver?**

**S: Hah you are so stupid! **

**Don't make me tell them about the end.**

**S: Aahhaha *Rubs neck* Manga doesn't own Max ride, but she does… *sigh* own me.**

**Without further ado, Chapter 8!**

Did I mention how much I hate school? No, well… I hate school. And now here I was, standing in the front of a class full of strangers and the teacher was asking me to basically give them an account of my life story. Yeah, I hate school.

"Now, Sara, where are you from?" The old bat, Mrs. Fare, was smiling like the cat that ate the canary; not that cats could smile, but if they could, I'm sure they would look just like her. "Well, I, **Silver**, am from…" I paused as I thought of our cover story, "California."

The story actually kind of made sense, or, I at least looked like I could be from Cali. My skin had tanned from flying around a lot and my strawberry (as Nudge had dubbed it) blond hair was brushed and lay in neat waves running down my back to my hips.

My outfit made me want to barf, but it added to my character. Instead of the blue hoodie that I normally wore, I had on a crisp-bleh- button down shirt. The sleeves were short, revealing my muscled (not the buff guy type) arms. The shirt only reached to the top of my hips and a thin line of skin on my stomach would show if I raised my arms. The skirt was torture; it's a skirt. It did have shorts underneath, but that did nothing for the fact that I felt like I wasn't wearing pants. Everything besides the shirt was a dark purple, with a dark blue plaid design running through it.

I had to keep my wings hugged tightly to my body because of the schools no-jacket-in-class policy. All in all, I was extremely uncomfortable and grouchy.

I made my way over to my seat after the interrogation and sat back until I almost slid off. The teacher was nice and didn't call on me to answer any questions and by the time that lunch had come, I had learned that algebra is my least favorite subject of all time.

"Hey! Silver was it? My name's Patricia Kites, can I sit by you?" A girl with really long brown hair and bubbly voice was standing across from me, holding her tray and smiling like she had won the lottery. "Uh, sure, go ahead." As she squealed and sat down, I opened the lunch that Anne packed for me and sighed. I knew this was going to happen, but hey, I could still wish. She had packed me a normal sized lunch; I need more than a normal sized lunch. It was all part of trying to seem normal.

"Wow! Your lunch looks great! I hate school lunches, but hey, what are you gonna do?" She laughed and shoved a forkful of pasta into her mouth. "Hi. Can I sit here?" why do people ask if they can sit down? _Just sit! _I mentally screamed. I was going to do the same thing out loud, but I looked up and saw the hottest guy ever.

His hair was shaggy and highlighted, but not like flaming, just pale and cute. His blue eyes were like clear oceans and his skin was just slightly pale. Patricia was drooling and staring at him with a mix of hate and adoration. I had to do a double check to make sure I didn't look the same. I study Patricia again, once again noticing the hate/love war in her eyes. _Odd,_ but I pushed the thought away as I mumbled a yes and he smirked and sat down. _Smirked?_

"So babe, you wanna go out with me?" oh great, the hot guy turns out to be a jerk.

I nearly choked on my tuna sandwich at the outright **blunt** statement and had to cough a few times before I could use my witty remark.

"So **babe**, are you gonna shut up and eat?" I smiled evilly as a look of shock came over those pretty boy features. He recovered and smirked again. "Don't' be so cold, hottie; I just thought we'd make a great couple. Sorry I came on so strong." He looked at me through his eyelashes and I nearly blushed. "Yeah, well my name's not babe or hottie, it's Silver." I tore off some of my sandwich. "Well, my name's Ryan Hoover, all around hottie and school king." He took on a sort of imperial pose and I snorted. _Man, this kid has a superiority complex._

At that exact moment, Iggy, Fang, and Max came over. Fang lead Iggy over to the seat beside me then took the other seat next to me. Max sat next to Fang and leaned over to smile sarcastically at me. "Looks like you made new friends. How about introducing us?" Max said her **innocent** look on high.

"This is Patricia Kites and Ryan Hoover, the latter is not exactly a friend." I glared at Ryan, but he just smiled at me and made a dismissive gesture. _Geeze, he's got like, multiple personalities! _"Guys, this is Max, Fang, and Iggy, my sibs." As I said this, I quickly squeezed Iggy's hand; just as quickly, I released it. "Nice to meet you! Oh, we are all going to be bff's for life! Yay, I can't wait until you meet the rest of my friends!" Ryan looked like he didn't want to.

I was glad when the final bell rang and the Flock and I were finally walking home. Anne forbid flying because of the off chance that someone might see us. The walk wasn't far, but I really wanted to stretch out my wings; the gash that was healing on my back added to the discomfort. The great part about the walk was that I was holding Iggy's hand! And none of the others thought much of it because the terrain was new to Iggy and he needed somebody to guide him.

After only five minutes into the walk, things went bad.

A black van pulled up and twelve erasers all jumped out, making a circle around us. I noticed that everyone was tensed up, ready to fight. Iggy's grasp on my hand tightened and he pulled me close. Even though I knew he was just trying to protect me, I still felt like I was being babied. I whispered low enough that only he could hear me "I can take care of myself, but thanks." Iggy frowned and kept his grip on my hand, though less tight.

The first eraser went straight for Max, lashing out with a right handed punch. The sudden attack made me suspicious, but I shook it off. As they began to fight, the other's followed the first's lead and charged at us. I dodged as two of them came at me. I released my hand from Iggy's and swung it at the closer one. I missed by a hair and he took the opportunity to step inside my guard.

The pain exploded in my ribs as his claw dug in deep. This time, I heard my rib crack, and immediately recoiled from the snapping jaws of the wolf man. I growled and smashed my foot into his ugly face. I turned to give the other one the same treatment, but stopped dead. Leaning casually on the side of the van was Jason.

_Oh ****************_

Next to him was someone I vaguely remembered, but couldn't quite put my finger on who he was. "Well Max, you seem to be getting along nicely." The guy smirked as he gestured to the school uniforms we all wore. "And I see you still have the new recruit. Hm, considering her history, I would've thought she'd be gone by now." His eyes glittered with malice and I felt the color drain from my face. "Her… history?" Max glanced at me suspiciously.

I glared at Jason, trying to ignore the horrible tightening in my heart. "You told him?" it came out as a hissed whisper, cold and icy; it even scared me. "But of course I did! We **are** going to be working together from now on. I thought it only more than obvious that I should tell him **your** life story." Jason casually walked closer to me, his gaze unwavering.

"Pay back." He whispered in my ear, making me shiver. "I hate you, I hate you with a passion." I ground out from between clenched teeth. "I know." His smile widened as his eyes took in the two almost healed cuts running down my cheek.

"Well, we better be off now, but have a pleasant night!" The other wolf guy that still stood by the van waved his hand as he climbed into the backseat. Jason smiled malevolently once more and walked over to climb into the passenger chair.

"Don't go and kill anyone, Silver." He laughed and the black car peeled away from the side of the road.

And just as suddenly as the fight had begun, it ended… leaving a suffocating tension in the air.

"Silver…?" Iggy and the rest of the Flock were staring at me. "Can we go home and talk about this?" I mumbled quietly, not meeting any of their eyes. "Fine, but when we get there, you better explain." I could hear the venom in Max's voice as she glared at me.

The flight back was horrible and I just wanted to curl into a tiny ball and forget everything that happened. Luckily, tomorrow was Saturday, so we didn't have school. Sadly, that meant that I had to spend my entire day with the Flock.

We coasted to a stop on Anne's front porch and walked in to the reception room. "Oh dear, what in the world happened to you? Come here and let me look at your injuries." Max looked ready to protest, but gave in as she gazed at the various bruises and cuts that the Flock had. When her eyes reached me, they showed no pity, just disgust and suspicion.

I waved away Anne's attempts to look me over and walked over to stand and watch by the stairs. Max never let her eyes off of me as I stood and gazed uninterestedly at what was happening.

After they were all bandaged up and clean, we made our way up to Max's room. They all sat on the large bed, leaving me to stand by the door, fidgeting under their gaze. "Start explaining." Fang said bluntly, straight to the point.

I took in a deep breath and began my story. "I was born in a lab like you guys, maybe even around the same time. Except that I was kept in one of the newer sections of the buildings. In this wing, they didn't use the old dog crates… well they did for the first three years, but they switched. They switched to plexi-glass boxes with holes in the top." I sighed as I realized I was going off topic.

"Anyways, in this newer section, I was subjected to plenty of terrible tests and such. The scientists seemed to like what they saw in me and began giving me special treatment. Like an extra bit of water and being aloud a short walk outside.

This lead up to them letting me even train to fly. I was sort of suspicious at first, but shrugged the feelings away, preferring their good graces to their bad side.

After six years of this strange behavior, they came to me and tested my fighting skills. More importantly, they tested my singing abilities. They had me go into the court yard and aim my song at a wall on the building. As I was singing, something happened and my song got out of control. I couldn't stop and soon, the entire section of the building exploded.

I was speechless as they lead me past the wreckage; there were bodies littered throughout the rubble; mutant bodies." I stopped as my voice caught and I watched the Flocks horrified faces. I didn't want to go on, but I knew that I must.

"A few days after this, one of the leaders of the eraser's team came to me and took me to a secluded room. One of the scientists came in, and later, my **friend **Jason was escorted in by the same eraser. 'You have both shown much promise' was the first thing that scientist said. I was still too shocked and terrified by what I had done that I didn't really care what he was saying.

I did care when he proposed his next question. 'Do you want to join the elite retrieval team?'" I stopped talking and took in the Flocks' faces.

They were shocked, but then understanding dawned on Max's face and she snarled, her muscles tensing up as if she were about to pounce. "You dirty little liar." I flinched at the ice in her voice. "You tricked us into taking you in so you could hand us over!" She yelled at me as she gathered the rest of the Flock behind her.

"You didn't let me finish." I stated dully, my eyes locked with hers though I desperately wanted to turn away. I waited for her to object, but she said nothing so I continued. "He, being the scientist, went on to explain that normally, only erasers were admitted onto this elite squad.

He said that not only would we be high ranked and privileged, but would also have a certain amount of freedom. Of course if we refused, even one of us, we would be terminated. Jason instantly agreed, whether out of concern for me or greed I don't know, but I… hesitated.

All too clearly, I can still remember the guilt, terror, the self loathing. I knew that this offer would require me to feel these feelings in harsh waves for the rest of my life, but it would also mean privileges far beyond my grasp." I felt like I was choking, slowly drowning in despair, but I needed to go on.

"It was painful, but I made my decision. I said no." Max stopped snarling and looked dumb struck. "Yo-you said… no?" I nodded mutely, feeling drained and exhausted. "But… that means Jason and you would've died, and obviously you're alive. And that means you turned down an irresistible offer… why?"

Fang was gazing almost admirably at me, as if what I did was a good thing.

I sighed, entirely ready to collapse and go to sleep. The gash on my back was burning and my head felt like pudding not to mention my newly crack ribs were taking a toll. All this interrogation can really get to a girl, you know? I sighed again, just for the stress relief, and plundered back into my story.

"Yeah, I am alive, and so is Jason, sadly," I muttered as an afterthought "anyways, that scientist guy decided to let me reconsider, and by that he meant 'be tortured until I was on the edge of death so that I would agree'. If anything, it made me more adamant in my decision. You should have seen their faces when I literally spat at them as a refusal." Despite my-self, a smile briefly broke out at the memory.

"After that, it's sort of a blur, but I woke up in an abandoned apartment with a note that…" I paused for a second, because I didn't know if I should really talk about something that not even I could make sense of. "A note?" Iggy asked, the rest of the Flock giving off the same curios aura.

"Yeah, it said something along the lines of an accomplice in saving the world and being important enough not to die." I blushed furiously. I almost missed the way Max's mouth and eyes turned into huge 'O''s of surprise. "Want to share something with me?" I asked Max, getting the feeling she knew something I didn't.

I slid down the wall until I was resting on the floor in a slumped state, waiting for her to stop fidgeting and tell me. "Well uh… you see… it **might** have something to do with… well…" she was rubbing the back of her neck and started blushing like crazy.

"Max is supposed to save the world!" Nudge blurted out. Max punched her in the eye and Gazzy and Iggy laughed like maniacs. Angle smiled at the scene and slowly walked over to me.

"Looks like your gonna be staying a while, ne?" I looked up at her smiling face and realized that the rest of the Flock was grinning at me too. "If you turned down a near impossible offer and still survived, then you have guts so…. I guess we're cool." Max looked **really** uncomfortable and I figured she didn't have much practice with apologies.

Iggy stood up and walked over to me. He had this serious look plastered on his face, but he couldn't hide the smile that pulled at the corners of his mouth. "If you stay, be warned that you will now be subjected to any form of prank me and the Gasman can pull."

I felt like someone had shoved crack, alcohol and any form of weed into my system. I started laughing and crying (mainly 'cause my ribs hurt like hell) and couldn't stop. The rest of the room burst into all forms of chuckling, giggles, and guffaws. Even Fang cracked a smile.

It took almost a full 10 minutes for everyone to calm down, and by that time, my brain had caught up with everything and I was smiling serenely at everyone. "Thanks." I whispered, not wanting to break the peaceful feeling that had taken place. "Gotta look after our, now don't we?" Max and I smiled at each other before a huge yawn broke the moment.

"I think I'm gonna go pass out on my soft and fluffy bed, so… see you guys in the morning." Everyone nodded their agreement and we each headed towards our rooms.

SRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSR

I pulled my night shirt over my head, careful not to disturb my newly wrapped rib cage. I was about to hop into bed when I heard a light knock on the door.

I made my way across the room and opened it to find Iggy standing there looking really, **really **awkward. "Hey," I said, "What's up?" _That… that was the lamest thing you have ever said._ I mentally shot myself in the forehead, but smiled on the outside.

"Hey." He replied, nervously moving from one foot to the other. I was about to ask him what he wanted when his face got impossibly close to my own.

His face was close

His lips were close

I really liked him

He was moving his lips closer

"I… really like you." And with that, he gently brought his lips the extra .0001 millimeter closer.

I felt like the world could explode then and there and I would not even notice. All I felt were Iggy's lips on mine and the warmth that made its' way down to my toes. I pulled closer and moved my mouth with his, my eyes closer from sheer pleasure.

We broke apart a moment later, trying to catch our breath. I smiled so wide I swear that any wider, and my head would have split. He was smiling too, just looking at where my eyes were. I pressed my face into his chest and listened to the rumble as he continued speaking.

"I… don't know why… but I really needed to do that. Just hearing how bad off you were and… you just blew me away. I guess this is my way of saying 'sorry', sorry for doubting you. Do you forgive me?" he sounded scared, like he thought I would hate him.

"Yes…." I whispered back, burying in further in the soft fabric of his shirt. I felt his arms snake around my back and was pulled tighter to his chest. "Good, 'cause I would've had to keep bugging you if you hadn't." He laughed which made me giggle too (and mind you, I don't giggle often). Then I noticed the breathless pain and remembered my ribs.

"Ah, Iggy… not to ruin this moment but… could you let me go? My ribs are about to break again." I gasped out. He laughed and let me go, but not taking his hand off of my arm. "Man, you really are touchy feely." We both laughed at my stupid joke and in my mind all I could think was;

_I wish had a watch that stopped time, like in that one movie._

SRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSR

**Seriously… I'm done? What? o finally! This had to be the most difficult chapter to write. I hope the whole Iggy/Silver moment wasn't random, but I felt like it needed to happen. I also want to say that Fang does not like silver like Iggy does, but he will get stranger during the story until I feel the need to tell you why.**

**Aside from me getting my butt kicked by several readers, I appreciate the "support". And thanks for the comments and Fave authors and Fave stories and Story Alerts. I LOVE YOU ALL! **


	9. First challange yay

HEY! How are you all! So I've started working on the next chapter! EXCITING! I know, you probably all thought that this was the next chapter and that I'm a super human and can do homework, study for exams, and write a story all at once. _Well_… I'm not.

Simply, I introduce my first challenge! I know, you might not want to do it, but hey; might as well throw it out there. Here's the thing; I'm kind of in need of some OC's to mix things up a bit, but I'm too lazy to think of my own!

So, this is the challenge:

Draw a picture of Silver and your OC chilling, fighting baddies, dancing, shopping, etc. then download it on the computer and send me the link. Make sure to include a brief description of your character. If you want to, you can add how you want them to be used in the story!

The best pic and or OC get to be used in my next chapter! All rights will go to you and I'll put that in the disclaimer. See, no need to be afraid! I'm not going to steal your little brain child.

PLEASE PEOPLE! I am in desperate need of OC's that don't require me to think! Haha other than that, the next chapter is almost done and you can look forward to it. By the way, if you can, please avoid using Deviant Art. For some reason, my computer has trouble with that site. If you must, though, I shall try and make my computer work! WORK DANG YOU!

Well, I'll see you guys again next time… or hear from you… 'cause I can't see you through the computer… yeah. Man, I have got to work on that.

LOVE, PEACE, CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES :D


	10. FIELD TRIP! Chapter 9

**Hey! Thanks for being patient! I tried to make this chapter longer and develop some of the plot, but it feels more like a filler chapter.**

**Silver: she doesn't own Maximum Ride  
Manga: Just crush my dreams why don't you  
Silver: Babe, try living without food for weeks and getting tortured on a regular basis.  
Manga: ~Why is she calling me Babe?~ 1. We aren't in Hollywood 2. Shut it, I made you, I can destroy you  
Silver: *shrugs* I still have Iggy  
Manga: Or I can make you get with Ryan instead  
Silver: AAAAAAAAAAAAHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO *head explodes*  
Hey, who do you guys think is cuter, IggyXSilver or RyanXSilver? Post in the comments!**

Something strange was happening at the school. It was like the whole school population had decided to get some fresh air. Everyone was gathered on the front lawn, milling about and yelling over the excited voices of other students. I began wading through the mass of teen bodies when I spotted Max and Fang. Deciding that they were my best bet to get information, I started shoving my way over to them.

I was almost with in arms reach of them when some blundering _idiot_ tripped over his feet, sending me into someone's chest. "Can't keep from falling for me, can you?" I looked up into Ryan's smirking face. I felt my own face heating up from both the close proximity and anger that was welling up.

"Shut it, Hoover… now un-shut it and tell me what's going on here!" I growled while pushing him back a few feet. He crossed his arms and pouted, feigning hurt. I sighed and forced a sweet smile; "Please?" I begged. He brightened up immediately and bounced back to my side, slipping a muscled arm over my thin shoulders. _Gah, his multiple personalities are getting on my nerves!_

"My dear Silver, today we are going on a field-trip! We shall traverse the highways, plunder gift shops, battle fierce tourists, and see things we have seen at least 20 times already. It's a day away from school to do nothing!" Ryan was smiling from ear to ear, obviously pleased with his performance. "So… basically I came to school for nothing?" I surmised, my eyes crossed as I tried to make sense of what came out of Ryan's big mouth. "Yep!" He replied cheerily while patting me on the back.

I shied away from his touch at the last moment, turning so I could see his face. There was a brief flash of disappointment in his blue eyes, but it was replaced with joy when I playfully punched his arm. He started poking my sides and it turned into an all out poke war when we heard a familiar bubbly voice.

"There you are!" Patricia cried, wiping invisible sweat from her brow. "I've been looking all over for you Silver! Oh… hey Ryan." Again, there was that strange look in her eyes. "Anyways, have you guys seen how popular Silver's sibs are? Your brother Jeff has had like, 3 girls ask him out already and…" She trailed off at the dangerous look in my eyes.

"Where are they?" I ground out between my clenched teeth. Patricia pointed over to the flag pole and shot me a puzzled glance, but I was already pushing people out of my.

Some blonde ditz was draped over Iggy, who, might I add, looked really uncomfortable. Her shirt was way too small and her way too huge breasts were rubbing all over Iggy's chest. As if that wasn't enough, she had her leg hooked over his, making escape nearly impossible. I didn't even take notice of the other disgruntled blonde-look-alikes as I stalked my way over to Big Boobs.

**A/N this is a side of Silver you will only see with Iggy and Strawberries. She's not normally possessive, but things like this (admit it, you'd be just as ticked) can set her off the deep end. Please do not attempt what I am about to write down. You will get B-slapped or possibly be marked as gay.**

Fixing my face so that it was a blank slate, I discreetly pulled out my wallet. I got as close to Big Boobs as I could without kissing her. I ignored her questioning glare as my hand moved from my wallet.

[ . . . ]

There was an awkward pause as I stepped away. Big Boobs was stuttering, a furiously red blush blooming on her cheeks. The people around us were also in a state of shock. Iggy had managed to wriggle free of her and was currently grasping my hand.

"W-what?" Skanky exclaimed, pointing to the five dollar bill sticking out of her skirt. "If you are going to act like a hooker, I'm going to treat you like one." I deadpanned. The surrounding area burst into uncontrolled laughter. People next to me slapped me on the back, some of them kind of hard.

"Um… what did Silver do, Fang?" Iggy asked Fang who had made his way over during the commotion. It took Fang a moment to reply, because he was obviously trying to hold back his own laughter. _Doesn't the guy _ever_ laugh?_ I thought, frowning at his cover up. "I'll tell you on the bus." He managed to get out without making any other sound.

"Come on," Fang said a minute later, "Max is over here." We made our way to the outside of the crowd, all of us obviously relieved to be out of the mass of students. Personally, I don't do well with cramped spaces… or closed of walls… or anything that is not open air.

"Making friends I see." Max commented through her own battle to control her snickering. "Something along those lines…" I trailed off. We both glanced at each other and burst into a fresh round of laughter. I reached up to wipe the tears out of my eyes, but was pulled up short when I noticed the hand still holding mine. Iggy rubbed his thumb up and down and smiled in my general direction. _Gah, he's so cute!_ My inner love struck teen screamed. On the outside, I blushed like a fire hydrant. Max noticed our little exchange and raised her eyebrow, a knowing look gleaming in her eyes, but said nothing.

SRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSRSR

"… And that is why the carpet is blue." The tour guide droned on even though she had lost most of the class. I was still staring at the three black suited secret service officers that had chosen to follow our class. People in suits gave me the creeps.

One of them glanced at me and we began staring at each other. He looked familiar and for some reason, I had the urge to stab him in the head with a dull butter knife. Maybe it was just my general dislike of men in suits. Or maybe it was the fact that he was smirking at me. _Eh, who cares?_ I shrugged it off and turned my attention back to the not so interesting tour.

My stomach was growling pretty loudly by the time we reached the stopping point. It looked like everyone else had finished their tours as well because the lobby was full of fidgeting students. "I'm glad lunch is soon or else I'd starve!" Cried Patricia while stumbling around and holding her equally loud stomach.

Ryan joined in, holding his own stomach and crying out for burgers and fries. They looked like zombies, crying out for some brains. I couldn't help but laugh when Patricia noticed Ryan and obviously blushed. The way she watched him was mesmerizing and tempting. Something in me despaired when I realized that Iggy could never look at me that way; that Iggy would never see me look at him that way.

I'd been suspicious for sometime before getting actual confirmation that Iggy could see nothing. I hadn't let it slip by that Iggy never really looked at me, that he stared at me, but not seeing me. Fang had confirmed the nagging voice in the back of my mind a week ago. Iggy was blind.

Ryan had stopped running around like an idiot and was currently trying to bring Patricia out of her daydreams. I laughed blankly as I noticed Max running towards me. Something about the look her eyes distracted me from my hunger pains and self-pity session.

"Please, please tell me you've seen Angel." She begged me. "I… I haven't. Why?" I asked, my own alarms ringing. Max's face crumbled and she explained how Angel had been missing since the middle of the tours. I could see Angel's teacher weaving between shifting bodies, searching for the blond head.

"She has to be here som-" I stopped short as an unnatural hush fell over the crowd. My attention was drawn to a man wearing a dark blue suit. He was smiling and nodding down at… ANGEL!

Before I could notify Max, she had already started storming off toward the blond 6 year old. A strange mix of relief and anger was radiating off of her being as I walked swiftly to catch up. If I were Angel, I'd run.

"Max! Look who I found! I got lost and this kind man found me and led me back here!" She was smiling blindingly, her innocent eyes gleaming with something unreadable. I felt exposed staring into her blue irises and tried to look away. It was like they were reading into my every move and getting ready to reveal every secret. She was scary, dang 6 year old.

"Thank you so much." Max thanked the man who I assumed must be the president, if the whispers of "look, it's the president" were anything to go by. He smiled down at Angel again. "It was no trouble. I couldn't let a sweet little girl like her wander around alone, now could I?" After more thank you's and some brief no problem's, we left the President and his service men.

Once again, I caught the eye of the black suited man and could have sworn he looked over-joyed. The emotion was wiped away and I was left wondering if maybe I imagined it.

"Stupid brats are denser than I thought!" Jason cried noisily as he removed the sunglasses and dark suit jacket he wore. He wiped at some face make-up with his sleeve and left a streak of reddish brown on his stark white button up.

Ari cursed his bad luck as his 'partner' plopped down in the swivel chair next to him. He could feel another migraine coming on.

"Both of you annoy me to no end, you know that right?" Max 2 was glaring at both boys, obvious annoyance radiating off her face. "Yeah, we know. You tell us every stupid day!" Ari growled, banging his head against the recording equipment.

The tape of Max fervently thanking the 'president' started playing repeatedly near his ears. For clones, Max and Max 2 sounded completely different. While Max 2 groaned and whined about the boys' behaviors, Max sounded almost a bit more… alive, happy… caring?

"Who knew that with a touch of make-up, even your closest 'friends' won't recognize you!" Jason spun crazily in his chair, the wheels wobbling precariously off of the ground. Ari was tempted to push him over, but resisted knowing it would just result in another headache-inducing fight. Turns out he didn't need the extra push, because Jason's chair came crashing down a minute later.

"Hey! Look at who's on the screen!" Jason was crawling frantically to the large screens mounted on the walls. He pointed to one on the far left that depicted a man fidgeting and glancing at the hidden camera periodically. His thinning brown hair was messed up from his hand constantly running through it.

"Jeb." Ari sighed. It seems his father wanted to talk. Ari grabbed the walkie-talkie near him and ordered some of the service men to escort his father up. Jason looked like he needed to pee really badly the way that he hopped from one foot to the other. "Jeb, Jeb, Jeb, Jeb!" He cried over and over again, like a dog barking for his master. Ari felt sick.

The door opened a crack and in stepped Jeb Bachelder, looking for the entire world like a father watching his kids play in traffic. Except he wasn't watching his actual kid, he was staring at the bird kids currently walking to their buses. They looked really happy, and Ari wanted to punch the screen so badly.

"What is it you want?" He instead growled at his father, glaring at him dangerously. Jeb looked hesitant to draw his gaze from the surveillance T.V.'s, but he forced his eyes toward Ari. "I came to ask how the plan is going. There are no complications, are there?" the way Jeb said it made Ari feel even worse. He would've snapped at him that they were doing just fine, but Jason bounded over and yelled "JEB!" as loudly as he could.

Jeb jumped about five feet in the air. He laughed when he saw Jason. If they had programmed him with a tail, it would've been wagging about five miles an hour.

"Jeb, I've missed you so much! These guys are no fun and they yell at me all the time!" Jason pouted like a five year old. Something about Jeb made him act so innocent and… for lack of a better word, cute. He seemed to forget all of his worries and the fact that he was trying to kill his ex-best friend.

Jeb laughed at Jason's antics and grabbed him into a fatherly hug. "My, you seem to be getting stronger! I'm sure that you will all get along fine after some time." Jason smiled blindingly at Jeb, basking in the praise. "Now, I'm going to leave you all to get the job done. Don't act rashly and definitely don't let them see you." He said the last part very slowly and directed his words to Ari.

The 7 year old lupine boy wanted to rake his claws over Jeb's soft cheeks. The stupid tone in his voice was so patronizing. When this was all over, Ari wasn't going to listen to hi 'father' any more. Now, he just needed to focus on the task at hand: recapturing the elusive Flock.

**So I just need to warn you, from here on, the story will stray very far from the original books. I lost all of my Max Ride books… ok my mom sold them. And since I'm too lazy to buy new ones or go to a library, I'm taking the plot development into my own hands.  
Please don't forget to comment please. MangaLuver1423, just want to tell you, your review encouraged me to finish this chapter. Thanks to everyone else who reviewed as well.  
Silver: Love you!**


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